A new Economic Development Department program targets movie, television and digital media film projects.
The Austin Creative Content Incentive Program, approved May 15 by City Council, enables the city to be more competitive when incentivizing film production in Austin, city documents state.
In exchange, all applicants must use a "Made in Austin" logo in the project's end credits, be an approved applicant for state film incentives, pay fair wages and hire based on city guidelines. In addition, each project must fall within the city's desired development zone.
In exchange, the city will incentivize each project by paying approved production companies 0.5 percent to 0.75 percent of the wages paid to local residents working on a given project.
Joe Lanane’s career is rooted in community journalism, having worked for a variety of Midwest-area publications before landing south of the Mason-Dixon line in 2011 as the Stillwater News-Press news editor. He arrived at Community Impact Newspaper in 2012, gaining experience as editor of the company’s second-oldest publication in Leander/Cedar Park. He eventually became Central Austin editor, covering City Hall and the urban core of the city.
Lanane leveraged that experience to become Austin managing editor in 2016. He managed eight Central Texas editions from Georgetown to San Marcos. Working from company headquarters, Lanane also became heavily involved in enacting corporate-wide editorial improvements. In 2017, Lanane was promoted to executive editor, overseeing editorial operations throughout the company. The Illinois native received his bachelor’s degree from Western Illinois University and his journalism master’s degree from Ball State University.
